leftwikiaorg-20200213-history
King County Democrats/20070123
Notes from the KCDCC Board Meeting on January 23, 2007 2007 elections The following King County Council seats are up for reelection in 2007: *2 Gossett *4 Phillips *6 <-- Target Hague ® *8 Constantine Also Scott Noble, some Superior Court races, and the Port of Seattle nonpartisan races. Supporting Alex Fisken, Targeting Bob Edwards King County Elections Laura Lockhart gave a presentation on the new voter registration forms. Forms are available in 8 languages. Phone number is 296-VOTE. Important fields: Citizenship, Date of Birth, Residence address. Legibility counts!! There is a 15-day deadline before an election if registering in person, or 30 day deadline if mailing in the forms. There is also a 30 day cutoff for address changes. Q: Address Confidentiality Program? - Used for Domestic Violence protection. More information available. Please call the county. Q: Naturalized Citizens? - Postmark rules apply, but DO NOT SIGN THE FORM as a citizen until you actually are. County Councilmember & Chair Larry Gossett Move to early endorse Larry Gossett for 2007 election. Scott White spoke in favor: Lifetime activist, leader of Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) for 15 years, 14 years as a councilmember. Motion passed. Larry Gossett is running for his 6th term. He joined the council in 1993 during the expansion for a two-year term, and drew staws to determine that he would run again in 2007 after the 2005 redistricting. We need to do more than just elect PCOs. We need to articulate policy. Got Voice? Gossett acknowledged the 46th in the effort to change the symbol of King County to Martin Luthor King, Jr. The logo development is in final stages, so expect a little controversy. This is Gossett's first time as Chair. Each rep now represents 200K people. Last year they had 21 committees, but they have reduced that number to 13 standing committees and 27 regional. They may send Senior Staff to committee meetings unless there is a vote that needs to be cast. Example: In house Transit committee has the same chair as the member of the regional transit committee. Growth management is the same as the regional waste water management committee (Phillips). This will help those members be more effective in their roles. Because of the small number of people on the council (9), Republicans chair some of the committees, but Democrats have a majority on all committees. In 1965, when the voting rights act passed, there were 146 black elected officials in the United States. Now there are 10,200. That is still only 1.7% of the 537,000 total elected officials at all levels. The Voting Rights Act is up for renewal in 2007. Q: Can we expect the Seattle Transit Tunnel to open on time? Yes, we are on time. (That's from Alex) Q: Will there be extended tunnel hours? Yes, but only when Light Rail comes to the tunnel in 2009. Q: On Transportation, Former Mayor Rice is recommending a regional transit authority. Gossett says not any time soon. Such a body could not be elected regionally. Q: Are there any benefits to the county council being 9 members instead of 13? Each member has more power, and it's easier to talk to colleages. However, it's much harder to interact with constituents. For example, there are 88 community councils in the 8th district. Nearly impossible. Q: Do you support public financing of elections? Yes. Q: Can the council help pay for the MLK memorial in DC? Not through the government, but individuals certainly can and are encouraged to help. Upcoming events Honors Banquet: Honoring Senator Patty Murray. There will be a work party at 10am Thursday to get ready for the WSDCC meeting. Planning for the State Reorganization meeting in Olympia, where we will be trying to promote King County for the 2008 State Convention. Reports & Resolutions Public Financing of Elections Sarajane spoke about hearings this Thursday in Olympia. There are 7 bills, including HB 1360. Contact Sarajane for more information. Resolution passed in support. Hotel Workers Rising Resolution presented by Union. Near immediate move on the floor to close debate, passed. Resolution passed. Javier spoke via personal privildge to object to the lack of discussion. Even though everyone would have supported it, it would have been nice to hear more about it. Gun Show Assault Weapons Resolution presented, passed. Thanking Larry Phillips Resolution presented, passed. Elections Emily Willoughby talked about upcoming elections efforts. She needs volunteer coordinators for each LD. (Sylvia has already volunteered for the 46th) Names need to be in by February 15th for the March 13th election. Technology Rob Dolin spoke about plans to expand the Activist Database on kcdems.org. Misc There will be a King County Council meeting in West Seattle on February 5th focused on Disaster Preparedness. An additional meeting will be held in the 32nd District on February 14th Category:KCDems